


Black Day at Khyber Pass

by Eclectic_Goddess



Category: The Losers (Comic)
Genre: Canon character deaths, Gen, Tragedy, comic-verse, implied suicidal thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-27
Updated: 2014-04-27
Packaged: 2018-01-21 00:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1531067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eclectic_Goddess/pseuds/Eclectic_Goddess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cougar gets to the helicopter first.  Clay knows he won't walk away whole.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Black Day at Khyber Pass

**Author's Note:**

> Written in April of 2010, previously posted on Livejournal.
> 
> In the comics, Cougar is the only one close to the helicopter when it goes down (in Afghanistan instead of Bolivia, still loaded up with rescued children), and it’s not quite as quick or tidy as what happens in the movie. When he reaches the helicopter, there are children still alive, but he can’t get to them in time.

They find Cougar’s rifle and hat as they make their way down the valley wall. Cougar, they find on the ground next to the burning wreckage that has once been a helicopter filled with children. Clay tries not to look directly at it. Instead, he searches the skies for signs of the Mig that brought it down. The air is filled with smoke and dust and a smell that Clay thinks will stay with him for the rest of his life. There is no sound except the occasional pop of burning ammunition and Jensen’s whispered denial, “No, no, no, no…”

They can’t stay here. Clay wishes he could give them all time to grieve, himself included, but they need to get moving. Once they get past the horror of it, the truth becomes apparent. They were supposed to be on that helicopter. For reasons he still doesn’t fully understand, Max wants them dead. The only advantage they have right now is that he believes they are. If a recovery party comes out here looking for the wreckage, it will be easily apparent that his team isn’t on it.

“What a fucking nightmare,” Roque says. He sounds more annoyed than anything else, and Clay suddenly can’t look at him. “What the hell do we do now?”

“Now, we walk out of here, just like we planned to do. Only we’re not going to Peshawar. We’ll head for Jalalabad. We need to disappear for a little while.”

No one objects. Clay stands where he is for a moment and looks down at Cougar. He’s kneeling with his head on the ground and his arms flung out like he’s praying to Mecca, only now Mecca is a burning heap of twisted metal. They need to make sure he’s all right. Clay can see the fresh burns on his right arm and cuts on his hands. He must have heard them come up, but he hasn’t moved.

“I’ll get him,” Pooch says then. He’s holding Cougar’s rifle, but he hands it off to Jensen. After a moment, he slips his own rifle from his shoulder and un-holsters his sidearm. Clay takes both, understanding.

“Be careful,” he warns.

Pooch gives him a nod. He approaches Cougar the way someone would approach a wild animal, keeping his footsteps loud and staying within his line of sight. A breeze shifts the smoke toward them, and Pooch turns away from it for a moment, covering his face with the sleeve of his coat. When the smoke clears, he goes down on one knee beside Cougar. Clay can hear him talking, quiet and slow.

“I’m sorry man. I’m sorry.” Pooch looks over his burnt arm without touching him. “We gotta go. We can’t help them anymore. We did everything we could. We saved them for a little while. We gotta go now.”

Clay tenses when Pooch puts a hand on Cougar’s shoulder, but Cougar doesn’t throw him off. He straightens, hands dragging through the dirt like they’re broken. When he sits back on his knees, Pooch grabs him by the back of his jacket as though he might fall over. They stay like that for a minute, and then Pooch stands, bringing Cougar with him. Cougar staggers a little, but Pooch keeps ahold of him. Together, they come up to where the others are standing.

Clay forces himself to look at Cougar, to really look. His expression is mostly hidden by the long hair that blows across his face, but what Clay can see is blank and empty. Shock. “Cougar, are you good to move out?”

Cougar nods, once. Clay offers him his hat, and Cougar takes it with hands that are surprisingly steady. Jensen moves forward with his rifle and Clay stops him with a subtle gesture. Cougar doesn’t wear a sidearm in the field, but he’s sure to have something secreted away. They’ll have to watch him.

They head west, away from the relative safety of Pakistan and toward Afghanistan. They avoid the roads and dodge military patrols. Outside of Jalalabad they find the local black market supplier and exchange some of their gear for civilian clothing and supplies. From there they find their way across the border into Uzbekistan, where Roque reaches out to an old contact and secures transportation. They hunker down in a small house just outside Samarkand to regroup and make plans.

It has been 19 days since Khyber Pass, and Cougar still hasn’t spoken, but Clay decides it’s been long enough. He gives Cougar back his rifle.

 

THE END


End file.
